will be attended with Considerable Expence they are unwilling to Run the Risk of a Removal (as they are but beginners in the World) without first Obtaining Some Assurance of the favour & Countenance of the Government here both with Regard to their having the Benefit of all Such Service as the Governmt Shall have Occasion of in their Way & of Such Assistance in Setting up as in Your Great Wisdom & Goodness you Shall Judge proper wherefore they Pray that they may know whether they may Depend upon any Aid in these Respects & Especially the Latter which will be Suiatably acknowledged by Your Humble Memorialists Daniel Kneeland Joseph Russell July 3d 1755 In Council read & ordred to be Sent Down Theod' Atkinson Sery [4-125] [Governor's Orders to Colonel Hinsdale.] Portsm° Novembr 13th 1755 Sr The Enclosed Letter to Coll: Peter Gillman Contains Gov Wentworths orders to Leave forty of his Men (on their return home), for the Present Protection of the frontiers of this Province on Connecticut river he the Gov Proposes 20 of them to be Posted at Charles Town als N° 4- 10 at Bellows's fort & 10 at Hindsdale & fort Dummer not always to be in Garrison but frequently Employd in making Discoverys of the Enemy if Any Approach the Settlem there abouts as Soon as Mr Neal returnd I made it my Bussiness to Obtain the guard for your Parts tho' I hope there will be no Attempt on you this Winter at least If any thing Should Prevent Coll Gillmans regiment's return you will be Safe; while the Army is at Lake George but I am apprehensive (tho' we have no late News) that they will not be Long Detaind-his Excellency is quite (at Present) incapacitated to think or Transact Bussiness Occasiond by the Death of his Lady who Left him after about Ten Days illness of the Dead Palsy) on the 8th Instant and is not yet Interrd So that you may think under these Circumstances I have had a Difficult Task To obtain His Grant tho' otherwise I might have met no Difficulty-the Governour is almost Inconsolable - tis now your Part to See these orders Dilivered to Coll Gillman on his return to Deerfield or other Parts of Connecticut If he Should not return that way in Person the orders will be as Prevalent to the Commanding officer of his regiment as if he was there in Person I am with Proper Salutations to Mrs Hindsdale Your most Obedient Humble Servt Theodore Atkinson PS you are by no means to forward Coll Gillmans Letter to Hudsons river but diliver at Connecticut river [Endorsed] Copy to Coll Hindsdale to receive 40 men of Coll Gillman No 13, 1755 Capt. Neal [4-126] [Orders to Colonel Gilman.] Portsmo November 14th 1755 Sr The Council haveing advised his Excellency Governcur Wentworth to Detain forty Effective men a Detachment from Your regiment to be Left as a guard to the frontiers on Connecticut river I have it (in Consiquence thereof) in Comand from his Excellency to Acquaint you thereof & his orders are that you Detach forty Young men or those that have no families unless others are Desireous of the Post for that Service You are also to Appoint Three Prudent men of that Number as Sergeants to have ye Care & Command of them -as they Are to be Seperated into three Cores Viz 20 at Charlestown 10 at Walepole & thereabouts 10 at Hindsdale & thereabouts You Are to Cause these men to be Dilivered to Coll Hindsdale at Hindsdale who has orders for their further Disposition His Excellency is Prevented writing you himself by the Inconsolable Condition he is at Present in Occasioned by the Death of his Lady who was Suddenly Seized with the Dead Palsy & Survived the Stroke about 10 Days and Died is not yet Interrd So that Agreable to his orders. to me you are to Observe the above orders as from himself - I Dont Enter into the affair of Crown Point am Sorry that heavy Expedition is like to Prove abortive but glad that neither your nor the Province of N Hamp' are any ways to blame We have no news here remarkable by the Last Letters from England a Declaration of War was Dayly Expected but on the 16th September not Declared — M3 Gillman (on whom I have ordred this Express to call) & the rest of your family were well yesterday as are your other friends for any thing I have heard Mr Speaker Sherburne has had an ill Turne but is getting the better of it I am By his Excellencys Command - Your most Obedient Humble Servt Copy TA Secry [Endorsed] Copy to Coll Gilman to Detach 40 men for frontiers No 13, 1755 Capt Neal Express [An extract from the following letter is printed in Vol. VI., but as it is an important document, it was thought best to print it in full. ED.] [Atkinson to Thomlinson.] [Belknap Papers, Vol. I., p. 170.] Portsm° December 9th 1755. S'I am now set down to write you a longer Letter than I ever tho't to Trouble you with again having long since Determined to leave affairs of Government to be handed you by his Excellency Lest my Conjectures should militate with what he wrote you but as he I fear neither writes you so often or so fully as I could wish and as you in your Letter of the 7th of October (which I rec'd by Cap' Seward) mention what he wrote you of the 3 of Sept rivits my opinion that I might some times Conjecture Different from the Gov tho' in matters of suits there could be no Disagreement I am at a loss to know what his Excellency founded the Councils & Houses refusal upon (it must be upon some Private Conversation) the first time the Governour mentioned a reinforcemt to Gen" Johnson's army to the Gen11 Assembly was the 2d September in the afternoon the 3d it was under Consideration the 4th they voted the raising 150 men the 5th they augmented the number to 300 & Passed an act to make £15000 to Pay the Charge so that if ever any of his Majtys Provinces were allert in his service twas N Hamp' in that affair at Least But because you should know in General what we have done in that Expedition I will begin with the first Notice we had of it in this Province upon the II Day of March last Coll Hale of the House of ye Mass. came to town with a Comission from Govern' Shirley to Communicate the grand Scheme of the Crown Point Expedition a Secret that the Mass Court had Bound themselves by oath not to Divulge for some months before he Communicated it to Gov' Wentworth & his Excellency to the Council & assembly useing the Precaution of an oath in the Lower house this Gentleman brot the Quota each Government were to bear from his own Court ready assigned thus 600 men from New Hamp' 1200 from Boston 500 Rhode Island 1000 Connecticut 800 N York we could not compare our Quota with any the Governmts to be Concerned so well as the Massa with whom we never bore more than 1/10 & we have been often Concerned in Expeditions together in the Louisbourg Expedition we raised 500 the Massa allowed it to be more than our Proportion & as they could not easily raise the number they Designed which we understood was 3000 Gov Shirley Desired Gov' Wentworth to retain 3 Companys of the men he had raised & that they should be in the Pay & Subsistance of the Massa who was also at the charge of the Transports &c they were in the N. Hamp' regiment but were really at the Expence of the Massa which shows what they thot a Proper Quota and tis certain that Governmt has 10 times the men that this hath still they doom us one half the Number they Proposed to raise when this was mentioned to Mr Hale he said their Province had raised a regiment for Gov Shirley another for Sr Wm Pepperell 2 others for an Expedition to Nova Scotia therefore they ought to be Considered with respect to the Quota of men we told him in those four regiments there was more than a Duble Proportion of N Hamp' men & tho' they might have the Credit of raising those regiments they had not a Proportion of Massa men in them which was really the Case he then said if more than an exact Proportion of our men did not take on us the Expedition there would be an end & that if we would find 5 or 600 men he would engage that they should be Subsisted with Provisions without any Cost to this Governmt upon this N. Hamp Voted 500 men raised them had them in the woods 2 months before the other Provinces got their men upon Hudsons river all this time we victualed our own men our regiment under the Comand of Coll Blanchard remained 3 weeks at Albany before Gen" Johnson could employ him otherways than in guarding the Provisions up where he spent 500 Sterling In supporting his regiment notwithstanding the Massa Promises and all the Provisions Philadelphia had given which would have subsisted the then army more than two months, at last our regiment was ordered up and was subsisted out of the common stock -Coll Blanchard had the Post & Command of fort Edward on the carrying Place, the York regiment & his own under his Command there In the engagement with Gen" Diescau about 80 of our men with about 40 Yorkers many of which last was of little service tho' others of them behaved well I say this small Party under the Comand of Capt Foulsom of N Hamp not of Megennis as was at first mentioned tis thot kill more of the Canadians & Indians than was killd at Gen" Johnsons Camp - they Continued an obstinate Engagement with more than one thousand indeed all that retired from before Gen" Johnsons Camp Killd great numbers of the enemy recovered about 1200 Packs beat off the Enemy carryed their own wounded men to the Camp This engagement lasted about three hours when night came on and the French & Indians went off & left all — after this our regiment were ordered to the Camps at Lake George & were never put upon Duty but in the Scouting way which they Performed in so acceptable a way that no duty but that was required of them — Some of our men has been several times Down to the gates of Crown Point fort once they kill & striped a soldier within a few rods of the Gates & brot off his scalp & Gen" Johnson could or would have had no Intelligence had it not been for our men These things I mention that you might have the Truth at least for your own satisfaction I refer you to an attested copy of our first regiment being raised which was the report of a Comittee accepted by both Houses & Consented to by the Governour and which was in every particular Complyd with & so was the second regiment of 300 men under the Comand of Coll Gilman who were as good men as Coll Blanchards tho' they had not the opportunity to Convince the world of it— The Expedition is now at an end-why-I cant tell Provisions or rather the Transportation of them from Albany was wanting I can tell why methinks that should have been first made sure to rally again in the spring will not be in our Power I fear We have no money & so much in debt that if we should attempt another Emission of Paper twould not Pass what means may be found out is not with me even to guess our men are still willing to Pursue the enemy & now think they could have gone to Crown Point and have taken the fort if they had had but 4 Great Guns and would have taken the rout from Connecticut river directly without ever going near Albany and the men think our regim' would have been quite sufficient but the Delay alarm'd all Canada & gave them time to meet our army before they had got half way to the Intended Place of Action So there is two forts built at this vast expence & if they are of any future service New York Governmt may reap some advantage but no other Governm1 in the least - I refer you to the enclosed and am S'- Yours TA P. S. Pray send me on the Province acco' to whom charge it four reams of best foolscap paper for Transmitting the journals &c home, & four reams of a lower sort for writing votes &c - Let them be Cutt --4 or 500 quills 6 papers Ink Powder I have the leave of the Court to send for these tho' not a formal vote let them come early in the Spring in some Vessell bound to this Port if any if not to Boston Copy of the Committees report of the 15th March & am° out of Journal of Gen" Assembly 23 4 & 5 September 1755 [Endorsed] Decembr 27th 1755 Copy to Mr Thomlinson Private letter about the Crown Point Expedition - Sent by Cap' Penny 27 |